When my oldest boy was just a baby, I'd buckle him into his car seat conversion stroller and take him for long walks in the woods near our house. Over time we graduated to the front carrier, and finally to the off -road jogging stroller.Just as his little legs began to carry him on longer walks, his little brother came along and we were back to square one. Now, as my boys approach three and five, we’ve finally been liberated from strollers loaded down with diapers and toys. We’ve freed ourselves from the shackles of pacifiers, snacks, and sippy cups. At long last, we’re free to just follow the trail to see where it may lead. I’ve waited a long time for this.
Women are nurturers. We take great pride in our ability to cheer up a friend in distress (a little wine, a little conversation…everybody feels better). But sometimes even we gals are at a loss for words when a friend is in need of advice. This column gives suggestions – from actual women who have been through each of these situations – on what we should and should not say to our friends during these times.
Most of what there is to say about Joe Paterno and the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State has already been written about and discussed by journalists and sports pundits around the nation. Now, weeks aft er the story first broke and the frenzied media attention is perhaps beginning to die down, many are left wondering what it is that Paterno is really leaving behind in the wake of this series of mistakes. If we look at Paterno’s coaching success as a mutually exclusive venture from the ethics of his actions off the field, it could be said that he was an excellent, innovative football coach who made unethical and misguided personal choices. But it feels impossible for those things to be separated, because so much of his reputation as an amazing and inspiring coach was qualified by the fact that not only did he win Penn State a lot of football games, he also acted as a role model to the young men on his team (and other young people, campus-wide) at a pivotal point in their lives. When we look at the life coach responsibilities infused in Paterno’s actual job title (a role that he himself chose to take on and embellish in that way), then it becomes trickier to simply say that he was a great coach who did a bad thing.
I will never be an extreme coupon mom. I’m envious as hell when I see my friends’ Facebook posts about how much they saved at the grocery store, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that it will never be me.
Planning a wedding can stir up many emotions like excitement and stress. But imagine trying to plan a multicultural wedding. A wedding is primarily about the bride and groom, but it is also about the two families coming together. Of course, let’s not forget that you want to make your families feel special and enjoy your wedding day, too. It can be very tricky planning a wedding that unites two different cultures. The key is discussing how to incorporate the cultures into the big day. It’s all about planning ahead and determining which cultural rituals or traditions you want to include. Multicultural weddings have been going on for ages now, and they make sense when you think about the melting pot that we live in.
The night was filled, not only with constant cheers, but also with joyful tears. As The Boston String Quartet hosted their nationally successful Ethno-Urban Orchestra at the beautiful Rachel Schlesinger Hall last Saturday evening, not only did the dreams of 150 local high school students- to perform with the world-renown ensemble- come true, the dreams of one young musician did, as well.
Early on the morning of my 35th birthday, following a routine run the night before, I was jolted awake by excruciating pain like hot shards of glass grinding into the arch of my foot. 
I was telling someone recently that one of the perks − yes, I try to look at the glass half full − of being laid off in this tough economy is learning to reinvent myself. Although I don’t have the luxury of manicures and frivolous purchases since tightening my budget, I also don’t have to succumb to long commutes, overpriced gas, office politics and feeling the need to clean out the, ew, stinky office refrigerator. With the holidays looming before us, many use this time of year to escape from their cubbies for a week or two, feeling the need to cram, plot, plan and pursue memorable vacations to fill their scrapbooks with the gritting, forced smiles of children and spouses who sometime just want to stay home in their jammies and play with their new toys. The thought of just getting away from the office − and maybe home − for a short time is usually looming on your bucket list, and sometimes you just need to forget about everyone else’s agenda and follow your own path.
We have all been there: months after setting a goal or making a resolution we are right where we started. When it comes to setting goals and achieving them, good intentions often aren’t enough. In order to stick to your resolutions and reach your goals, you need a plan. Successful strategies for making your resolutions something you can stick to and achieve are not difficult to follow, but they do require a little commitment from you.
My salient magical childhood memory of Christmas occurred Christmas Eve at four years old, less than a month before an older next door neighbor would spill the beans about Santa, and years before I understood the traditional purpose for the celebration. This was the age of innocence and wonderment, when reindeer flew and everyone who loved you gave you presents (if you were lucky and good all year), and the season was ripe with benevolence and graciousness. Waking in the middle of a restless sleep, I stood at my window and looked up at the stars, wishing for just a glimpse of sleigh, not as proof but simply because on that night, for me − as it was for innumerable other children − nothing was larger in life than Santa.
